By Joan Whetzel
My son (David), daughter-in-law (Mirranda), 2 of their girls (Cidney & Reily), and my DIL’s
sister (Aunt Natalie) came over recently. Before it got dark we gave them the
obligatory tour of the rock garden, to which Aunt Natalie asked: So
why are you growing rocks? I
responded: Because the only other things that’ll grow back there are weeds, mud,
and a dead tree stump. We don’t particularly enjoy those, so why not grow some
rocks?
My 11 year old granddaughter (Haleigh) was showing off her
painted rocks to her 4-year-old cousin, Cidney, and gently reminded her to
leave the rocks on the ground. Cidney replied, knowingly: Oh, so if I pick them up, they
won’t grow!
Yeah, I know you’re all familiar with my rock garden with
its painted rocks and stepping stones. And I’m sure you’re all getting tired of
hearing about it. Well, it’s been evolving. We have added some clear and
colored glass pieces (not quite big enough, but still colorful). A tree frog
and a fairy door have taken up residence on the fence railing and an “Aloha”
sign welcomes visitors at the entrance to the rock garden. A solar-powered Tiki
God, with eyes that glow in the dark, now rests on the tree stump. Unfortunately, it doesn’t glow brightly
enough for night time pictures.
The pies-de-resistance?
Apparently, one of our rock seeds did grow – into a black, wrought
iron plant which Haleigh will paint green sometime soon. That is my
kind of plant. It’s drought tolerant, loves lots of sunshine and triple-digit
heat, requires no food, water, or maintenance of any kind, and stays green – or
whatever color you want it to be – year round.
